Norstad is a thousand light years from Earth yet was colonized eight hundred years ago so there is FTL but what kind? Anderson does not just say "hyperspace":
"The cruiser lumbered into space, rendezvoused with her task force, and went into nonspatial drive." (pp. 184-185)
That is all that we are told because nothing more is necessary for the story. If this story were to be novelized, then this passage would be expanded with some pseudo-scientific rationale. (See FTL III.) Does "nonspatial" imply that all positions are really identical? But that might entail an instantaneous space jump (see World Without Stars) whereas these ships take time to travel.
Other intelligent species:
"Around Polaris and beyond lies Kolresh territory, where for a long time they sharpened their teeth preying on backward autochthones." (p. 174)
This is the only reference, again all that is necessary.
We are familiar with "the Superman," Nietzsche's Ubermensch, which is also translated "the Overman" and this last term is the title of his dominance, Klerak Belug, the Kolreshite ruler. (p. 178) Belug, in his blood-colored tunic, is a head taller than Rusch and surrounded by secret police, guns and walls built to echo. This monster acknowledges that few Norron prisoners of war are still sane and refuses to release them even when negotiating an alliance.
"...the depths of hell are found in the human soul...no law of nature guards the upright innocent from malice." (p. 172)
Rusch wears a black uniform with silver insignia, like the Merseians visiting Irumclaw in the opening chapter of A Circus Of Hells. In his society, the Double Kingdom, every citizen is a trained member of the armed forces and contributes to the war effort, accepting a minimum of food without entertainment or cultural activity. This necessity has been forced on them by the relentless attacks of Kolresh.
I might just possibly have come to the end of commenting on this story for the time being.
5 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
At least the unlucky non-humans preyed on by Kolresh were not all of them likely to be thought EDIBLE by their conquerors, given the Kolreshite fondness for cannibalism.
I thought of the Alderson drive of Jerry Pournelle's Co-Dominium series as being comparable to the "non-spatial" drive of "Among Thieves."
Hmmm, so the Kolreshite ruler was addressed as "your Dominance"? That reminded me of how the Merseians called their Roidhun "his Supremacy" (even tho the actual power was exercised by "Protectors" acting as prime ministers).
The plain, austere uniform worn by Hans Rusch would be a good symbol of how THOROUGHLY Norstad had to focus on the struggle with Kolresh.
Sean
Paul:
Jack Vance used the term "Overman" a couple of times in his work, typically as a throwaway bit of background. If I'm recalling it correctly, there was a banker in one brief passage who had a portrait of himself, in the bank's lobby for all to see, labelled "First and Final Overman." Putting on airs a bit, I'd say.
Kaor, DAVID!
And in Poul Anderson's "No Truce With Kings," the feudalism which arose in the California of a United States which had fallen had local barons called "Bossmen." A term which Stirling adopted as the title used by some of the rulers of the successor states which arose in the former Mid Western US after the Change. I suspect Stirling took "Bossman" from Anderson's story!
Sean
RE: "non-spatial" drive and FTL
∴ Causality, Relativity, FTL travel: chose any two
http://www.projectrho.com/public_html/rocket/fasterlight.php#2.0
On this page:
The Canonical List of StarDrives
Landis List
-kh
Kaor, Keith!
This might seem egotistical of me, but have you read any of my guest articles? They can most easily be found in the "Contributors" blog Paul set up. I won't mind if you criticize some of my essays!
Sean
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